An Empire Reborn CANCELLED
by Eipok
Summary: "What Calus found at the black edge… when he brings it to light, there will be a reckoning unlike anything this galaxy has ever seen." —Valus Nohr
1. Intro

"Earth has no shadow, not yet." - Emperor Calus of the Adamantine Empire

 **Intro**

For years, the Cabal had been but a monolithic enemy, one of the many antagonists ever-present in the Sol System. It was clear that the Cabal in-system were but the tip of a very large spear, but as to the shape and scope of the spear itself? No one could say.

Then, the Leviathan arrived – a massive juggernaut of a ship, as majestic as it seemed cumbersome and dangerous. The Vanguard assumed the Cabal Emperor had come to finish the job his envoys had started. We expected to have to fight for our homes, our people, our very light. Instead? We were given a royal invitation. Over the next year, Guardians journeyed to the Leviathan three times, each time at the behest of the Emperor himself. First, he tested them. Then, after having found them worthy, he employed their talents to deal with a Vex infestation at the heart of the Leviathan, and finally to "escort" an unwelcome guest off the premises.

It took nearly an entire year after before the next invitation was received. This one, however, was not like the others. This invitation was not just for Guardians, nor was it to the Leviathan, to partake in tests or rituals or combat. This time, the invitation was for all of humanity, and it was to the Empire itself.

We accepted.

One moment, we weren't even an interplanetary species, we didn't even have control of our own home planet. We had been whittled down bit by bit to but a single city on a single planet. The next, we were a species without limits.

* * *

The Cabal Empire was vast. Thousands of solar systems, tens of thousands of planets, trillions of inhabitants. We had only ever seen but a few legions out of a military-industrial complex that spanned much of the Orion Arm. Now Ghaul was dealt with, and humanity was being incorporated into the Cabal, the Emperor's first act was to rename his Empire in honor of this momentous occasion. From then on, it would be called The Adamantine Empire, so named for the resoluteness and resilience all should aspire to.

His second act was to create his Shadow Vanguard. Guardians were given a new purpose, beyond merely ensuring humanity's survival. They were to extend the Emperor's reach throughout his Empire, and advance every field under the stars.

The Emperor's Shadow covered his entire Empire, and all his subjects were under his wing. Art, science, and technology, all of which had stagnated under Ghaul's rule, were finally allowed to flourish. Rather than merely surviving, the Empire was truly alive.

* * *

A/N: I know I've started to post two stories so far, an Unggoy in the Wasteland and the Realm of the Horned Rat, and that I have abandoned both. I may at some point return to one of them, probably Realm of the Horned Rat, but in the meantime, I promise I will see this story through to the end. I have a lot planned for it, and a clear end-point, and just thinking about it right now fills me with a level of passion I simply could not muster for either previous story. This will be an exciting adventure.

If anyone wants to help me craft this, feel free to message me. I'm most interested in anyone who is deeply familiar with Destiny, who is willing to help me brainstorm.


	2. Prologue: Chapter One

"Oh Guardian of Guardians, my Shadow of Shadows, I have kept one last secret from you. I'm sure you have wondered what it is I found at the edge of the galaxy that would shake a being such as myself. It is time I showed you." - Emperor Calus of the Adamantine Empire

 **Prologue: Chapter One**

Date: 3500 AD

Location: Pax System, Horsehead Nebula

The Batarian Hegemony may nominally be a member of the Citadel, but that's as far as it went. No one trusted them, hence why even in peacetime, and while they're ostensibly under the Citadel umbrella, the border between their space and the Citadel proper was patrolled at all times. That said, the Batarians weren't stupid. They'd never attempt anything under the Citadel's watch, not so close to Sur'Kesh. In other words, this was the shittiest and most boring posting in the entire Turian Hierarchy.

Boring, that is, until today.

 _On board the THS Heavy Cruiser "Indominus"_

"Sir, the relay is activating!" said a sensor operator.

"Do we know where from?" inquired the Indominus' Captain.

"Yes sir! It seems to be coming from an uncharted relay."

"Understood. All stations, red alert. First contact protocol is in effect. Ready weapons to go hot, but do not pursue target locks unless I give the order, or unless fired upon. Comms, send a tightbeam update to Command, then start broadcasting the first contact initiation package on all frequencies. Shield ops, precharge shield capacitors but keep shields offline, and slave them to threat-assessment VIs." announced the Captain, before he pulled up a strategic view of the space around the relay for 10 light seconds on the central holographic display.

A chorus of "Yessirs" followed immediately after. Then, silence reigned except for the diligent work of station crews, and occasional intra-crew updates.

After three minutes, a sensor operator spoke up. "Sir, relay transit is complete, and according to the Relay's logs, something definitely came through. Frigate weight, sir, but nothing is showing up on sensors. Orders?"

"You're positive you're not misreading the relay logs?" asked the Captain.

"Yessir, one hundred percent."

"The whatever came through must have come through stealthed. Keep looking. I want active scans of the area around the relay, starting at 0 and working your way out. Comms, update Command, and include the relay logs, as well as all related sensor data."

Half an hour passed. Then an hour. The two. It was three hours later that something happened.

"Sir! Contact, one hundred thousand kilometers from the relay! It's sending a tightbeam," said a sensor operator.

"Comms, cache the data, then see if you can translate it. Sensors, active scan of the contact, then send it to logistics for full analysis."

"Sir, I've cached the data, but there's nothing to translate. It's formatted in Hierarchy Military Standard. Would you like me to parse it?"

"Do it, and update Command, including the data we just received, as well as all sensor data on the contact. Ask for reinforcements."

"Sir, the VIs have finished parsing the data. It's a message, with coordinate data attached. Message reads as follows: 'Turian Hierarchy Vessel designation Indominus, this is the Adamantine Empire Vessel designation Ambassador. Do not be alarmed. This Relay is now under the jurisdiction of the Adamantine Empire, pursuant to the Imperial Sovereignty Protection Act and as directed by His Magnificence Emperor Calus himself. A defense fleet will be entering the system within the range of coordinates attached to this message. Make no hostile actions, and do not interfere with this fleet in any way, and you will be allowed to pass through the relay unharmed once the area has been deemed secure. Also attached is a specially tailored first contact package, to be personally delivered to your Citadel Council.'"

Internally, the Captain of the THS Indominus was distressed. "Some never before seen 'Adamantine Empire,' which evidently already has knowledge of the Citadel Council, comes through this relay and just claims the relay for itself, in clear violation of Citadel Sovereignty? Well shit. If they want a war, I guess," he thought to himself.

Out loud, he shouted "Battle stations, shields up, weapons hot! Pre-charge main weapon capacitors, set target acquisition to automatic, and calculate potential escape trajectories."

Before he even finished his commands, however, the "Adamantine Empire" fleet appeared on the strategic map. Not "came through the relay" appeared, not even appeared bit by bit. No, it was simply that one second, there was no fleet. The next second, there was, and by the spirits was it a fleet. As Captain of a THS Heavy Cruiser, one of the most dangerous warships in the galaxy, and second only in size to dreadnoughts, he had expected to have the upper hand in any engagement with the Batarians' small and aging navy.

He was not, however, met with Batarians, nor was he met with anything small. As a matter of fact, the smallest vessels in the opposing fleet were Light Cruiser-weight. It wasn't the Light Cruisers, or the number of them (they were many, scattered around the fleet in all directions like a cloud), that alarmed him. It wasn't the Heavy Cruisers either. It wasn't even the absurd number of dreadnoughts, though they certainly would have been met with their fair share of shock on their own. No, what alarmed him most was what must have been the flagship. To call it huge, or even massive, felt like an understatement. It wasn't massive, the Citadel was massive. According to the Indominus' sensors, this monstrosity of a vessel was a breathtaking 100km long, covered in what seemed like statuary and carved reliefs, and mind-bogglingly an entire open-air city on top.

He had started this day thinking he could handle anything the galaxy could throw at him. Now, he doubted the entirety of the Citadel could handle what had just been sent their way.

* * *

A/N: Seems I'm on a roll today.

P.S. No, the big ship described in this chapter is NOT the Leviathan. The Leviathan is at least 700km long.


	3. Prologue: Chapter Two

"The Cabal fleet that I remember shocked with its allure and refinement. They would never threaten. Our power was such that our threats were unspoken. And always present." - Emperor Calus of the Adamantine Empire

 **Prologue:** **Chapter Two**

Location: The Citadel, Widow System, Serpent Nebula

 _Inside the Citadel Council's secure meeting chamber_

"This is an outrage!" shouted Sparatus, the Turian Councilor, mandibles quivering in shock and rage as he tried to carve a deep furrow into the carpet with his pacing.

"Calm yourself Sparatus before you pop a blood vessel," commented the Asari Councilor, Tevos.

"Calm? You want me to be calm? Don't you see what's happening?"

" _Everyone_ sees what's happening, but what separates us from the common people isn't whether we see what's going on, or even how much experience we have, it's how well we can deal with it. We need to think clearly, and respond intelligently, and that is rather difficult to do if we're all screaming in fear and anger. And before you say anything, yes, of course we're all afraid, but we can't let that fear or uncertainty rule our decision-making," retorted Tevos as calmly as she could manage.

Valern, the Salarian Councilor, merely sat at the table with his eyes closed.

"So what do you suggest we do, then?" queried Sparatus.

"I don't know, but that's what we're here to figure out, isn't it?" replied Tevos.

"Let them have it," said Valern.

"I'm sorry… what?!" Tevos demanded.

"Let. Them. Have. It." repeated Valern, as if he were lecturing a child, and not an Asari Matriarch over twenty times his age.

"You realize this is your home system they're bordering, right?"

"Of course, but the Dalatrasses have agreed. We cannot stand to antagonize this new power, even if it means losing a relay. It would likely be a war we could not win, if STG analyses are even close to accurate. That said, IF we were to open a direct line of communication to this Emperor, as he requested in his missive, then perhaps we could use this to our advantage. The relay in question is the only way to reach Batarian Space directly from Citadel Space."

"You're suggesting essentially pawning off the Batarian problem to this Adamantine Empire?" asked Sparatus incredulously.

"Indeed," replied Valern calmly.

"Well, if your government has already agreed, then that's the biggest hurdle already dealt with. Let's face it, nothing net positive comes of our relationship with the Batarians anyway, this wouldn't even be a loss in that regard. The biggest issue would be with fortifying our "new" border with this Adamantine Empire. Pranas would have to become a fortress system that would put Trebia to shame," commented Tevos.

"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, does it? We've all seen the STG briefing on this "newcomer" thanks to Valern, and the SPECTREs have come to similar conclusions. Fine, the Hierarchy will provide all the aid necessary to fortify Pranas. Now, what about general mobilization? According to STG and SPECTRE estimates, and assuming even a quarter of the information provided by this Emperor Calus is true, we'd need nothing short of full mobilization to combat this empire. What say you?"

"I say we'd be entering into the biggest cold war in our history, and we don't even have open communications established with this empire yet," replied Tevos.

"Then let's open communications, yes? We were given transmission codes and a cipher, after all," said Valern.

"Alright. Link us through to our SPECTRE vessel in the Pax system," said Tevos. Then, after giving her other councilors (just Sparatus, really) time to make themselves presentable, continued "have them forward the connection to the so-called "Hydra," let's have a chat with our new neighbor,"

"Aha! So you have returned my call! It is delightful to finally be face to face, so to speak, with my new neighbors. Terribly sorry about the relay incident, but hopefully you understand. National security is imperative, and there, of course, is always something to be said for big stick diplomacy, especially when you're the one with the biggest stick.

That said, I do hope we can put this whole thing behind us. I can even return control of the relay to you, simply park my fleet on our side instead. I do have three conditions, however.

First, I want the biggest embassy you have, and I want to have free reign to remodel and decorate it as I please.

Second, I'd like my citizens to be able to come and go throughout your space as they please.

Finally, I would like a universal waiver exempting my citizens from two specific laws of yours: your ban on genetic modifications, and your ban on artificial intelligence. Both things are rather integral to our society, you see, and attempting to enforce them on my citizens would be seen as an act of war."

"You're offering the _conditional_ release of _our_ relay?" said Sparatus rather snarkily, which resulted in a _look_ from Tevos.

"Yes. I did indeed just say that," replied Calus.

"We agree to your terms," said Tevos before anyone else could say anything.

"Excellent! I'll be sending over my Trade Minister and an Ambassador to the Citadel first thing. I do hope you play nice," said Emperor Calus, before terminating the call from his end.

* * *

A/N: Some of you have noticed these chapters are rather short. That is by design. I'm basically publishing the story scene by scene, treating chapters less like traditional book chapters and more like individual story segments. The alternative would be to publish much longer and much less frequent chapters. If you would like that, please say so in the reviews.


	4. Prologue: Chapter Three

"And so I become Variks, the Kell. House Judgment envoy to the Eliksni people." - Variks, Kell of House Judgement

 **Prologue:** **Chapter Three**

Location: Aboard Varik's Skiff, Somewhere in the Kuiper Belt, Sol System

Variks had spent months working to gather the remnants of the Fallen houses under his banner. It was not enough. Those who remembered House Judgement were simply too few, and with too little power. He could not yet count even a singe Ketch to his name, let alone enough Fallen to crew one.

What he needed was leverage, something to entice the Fallen diaspora. They were not interested in technology or secrets. They wanted things of material value; weapons, armor, supplies, ships. More than anything, though, they wanted Ether. What he needed was a Prime Servitor, but how could he get one? Where could he find one, or the resources to build one?

He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of someone walking up to the cockpit. Before they reached the door, he croaked "Enter quickly. Have not all day, yes?" with mild amusement at his own inside joke. He had nothing but time these days.

"Kell, I bring news from Crows, from Last City. An invitation, addressed to you, delivered by Hidden. From Calus. To Leviathan Palace," offered a Vandal - for his crew had no Dregs - somewhat hesitantly.

"Delivered by Hidden?" That meant his Crows in the Last City had been uncovered. Why then, were they still alive? Finally, Variks allowed his mind to process the last bit. "Calus has invited me, by name? To his Leviathan?" It took all his self-control not to shout.

"Indeed," replied the Vandal.

"Were instructions included? Transponder codes? Timeframe?" asked Variks quickly.

"Indeed," replied the Vandal.

"To all?" demanded Variks.

"Indeed," replied the Vandal, before procuring a data storage device from a pouch and handing it to Variks.

Variks inserted it into his hand terminal and his mind devoured the contents in a flash.

"Tell crew: Preparing to meet Emperor. Play nice. Behave, yes?" Variks ordered as calmly as he could, before turning sharply and seating himself at the flight controls.

Within seconds, their course was set, and transponder codes pre-loaded into the computer and programmed to switch over the instant the ship entered the Leviathan's Restricted Space.

* * *

He had known the Leviathan was large, but seeing it in person made him realize words like "large" and "huge" could never do it justice. Unfortunately, the only other words he knew for something bigger were "massive" and "gargantuan," and he had already used "gargantuan" to describe Oryx's Dreadnought to himself. Looks like "massive" would have to do.

So, it was massive. It was also gold. Very, very, very gold. Not his style, but one couldn't argue its effect. Its ventral side shone from the light of the twin miniature suns orbiting around the tallest point of the spire jutting out above the palace above the "nose" of the vessel, and given how it was oriented its dorsal side no doubt shone from the light of Sol. Brilliant gold from every angle, and seven hundred kilometers long, this was most certainly a vessel fit for an Emperor.

He was close now, could begin to make out details, individual buildings. Then, as he slowed down for final approach, he could even make out throngs of Cabal and even smaller figures in the streets. Finally, he landed.

He summoned his honor guard before making his way through his ship, down to the disembarking ramp, and out to the Leviathan itself. He led his group past the Royal Guard standing vigil, up over a kilometer of stairs, through the Castellum, and finally, to the throne room itself.

Now, bathed in the literal glory of the Emperor, a warmth which seemed to radiate directly from Calus, it was all Variks could do but bow in the ancient House Judgement tradition: eyes up, hands on the floor.

Suddenly there was laughter. Deep, booming laughter which seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"You may rise, Variks the Most Loyal, Keeper of Secrets, Kell of House Judgement. Your gesture is appreciated and accepted."

Deciding to dispense with the theatrics with which he normally conducted himself, Variks spoke in perfect English: "Many thanks, Emperor Calus. You desired my presence, sought me out. Why, if I may ask?"

"Why of course. You see, I know your Fallen, those who were once the noble Eliksni. I know how glorious your people were. I know how when the end came, you fought. I know how the Great Machine that you so adored, which had uplifted you like it had so many others before you, fled in the face of the coming end. And more than anything, I know your desperation. The desperation to survive, yes, but more than that: to live.

I have been there myself. I too once lost everything, and even I spent time wallowing in despair and self-pity. Then, at the black edge of the universe, I saw the end, the end of everything, and my eyes were opened. You see, what is life, but the living of it? All things end, even the universe itself. What could possibly matter more, ultimately, than making the most of the time you have?

What I promise you is life. Not just survival, but life itself," he says as he spreads his arms wide as if he were a merchant displaying his wares. Suddenly, a Prime Servitor appears before him in royal purple, with resplendent gold highlights. As he closes them again, he finishes with "In return, I simply reserve the right to be the last, and for that I will need the strongest at my side."

"This servitor, how did you make it?" asked Variks, trying not to let his astonishment blind him.

"Did you think the Traveler was the only source of life? Of light? There is more to the universe than light and dark. Would you like me to show you?" said Calus, the mirth in his voice growing with every word.

"I would," replied Variks. Calus laughed once more, even more heartily than before, and then Variks' eyes were opened.

* * *

A/N: Well, some of you asked about the Fallen. Here they are.

Also, for those of you who don't know, I've started a companion story to this, An Empire Reborn: Codex. It's exactly what it says on the tin, Codex entries for this story. If you're confused by anything or want to know more about something, go there and read through it. If it's something I've not gotten to in that, leave a review over there and I'll incorporate your feedback as soon as I can.


	5. Prologue: Chapter Four

**Prologue:** **Chapter Four**

The Drifter was a problem. At this point, everyone but Zavala knew about that Gambit of his, and anyone with sense was steering clear. Nothing good could come from harvesting motes of dark, and the Drifter was practically industrializing the process. According to the Hidden, it was supposed to be a ruse to draw out the Shadows of Yor, but even if that were true, the Drifter would still have a bank filled with darkness.

What's worse, some folks thought the Drifter was doing more than just "rounding up" Taken, that he was actually _making_ them from the darkness that was collected. Unfortunately for everyone, Calus knows that's _exactly_ what's happening, and the last thing anyone needs is for the next Taken King to be a Guardian.

Calus needed the Drifter dealt with, and he needed it done right. That meant he needed his Shadow of Shadows.

* * *

Onboard the Derelict, Above the Emerald Coast, Earth, Sol System

It would be lying to say getting on the Derelict was difficult. The Drifter used it to ferry his teams of Guardians to their arenas. All I had to do was blend in with a team, and sign up for Gambit. Easy enough, after having learned every book on the subject of blending in from Ikora herself, and a few more from Calus.

Fortunately for the Drifter, he's got the sense to keep each team in separate transmat zones, enclosed in some sort of Light-resistant cage. No one knows what it's made of, but it's transparent, and it can stop a nova bomb as easily as it would a paper airplane. You can't get through it, can't even blink through it. Not terribly surprising, given that Blink is really just shortening the space between yourself and your target.

Unfortunately for the Drifter, there are more ways to get from point "A" to point "B" when you expand your horizons beyond our four dimensions. Doubly unfortunate, when you consider who exactly was in that cage.

"Alright mavericks, let's see what we're fightin' today?" shouted the Drifter, playing with those tokens he loves so much. "Fallen, on the horizon! You know, they say the Whirlwind was worse than the Collapse. I say they deserved it. Transmat's up in three!"

I could feel the transmat platform spooling up, getting readings on me, preparing me for transit down to the surface. I prepared, too.

"Two!"

Pooling energy out from my brain, dispersing it evenly throughout my body, I prepared myself for my own, different journey. I wouldn't be going down to the surface to do battle, my battle was right here.

"One!"

I'd timed it correctly, disappearing right as the transmat fired. The Drifter didn't notice a thing, far as he knew everything was going normally, Guardians transmatting down to the surface. After all, all 8 transmats had fired, and all 8 Guardians were gone. I wasn't about to give him enough time to check his feeds and wonder why only 7 guardians showed up at their destinations.

The Emperor uses a council of Psions to maintain his Shadow Realm. No one but them had been able to learn its secret until he saw power in me that I did not know I had. I had been so blinded by the light, that every time I looked within myself, it was all I saw. He taught me how to look deeper. He taught me how to manifest my own psychic realm. My own void between voids. Mine was nowhere near as large as his, of course, for he had an entire council of powerful psychics to maintain his, but mine was still larger than a lone person's had any right to be. More than big enough to encompass The Derelict.

In this other world, my other world, getting to the Drifter was as simple as walking up the stairs. Then I could leave, be right there in front of him. Thing is, he's mighty quick on the draw, and this isn't the kind of confrontation I'd want to have on his turf. No, this was gonna happen on mine.

I didn't need to clap, to bring him here. I just had to will it, and there he was.

"Well, shit…" he started to make out before the world itself collapsed around him. My mind reached out to his, and I began to Devour him. He didn't speak, didn't scream. He didn't even twitch.

I'd Devoured the souls of other Guardians before, just enough to get to know the _taste_. He didn't taste like Light as they did. Calus often said to me that I was like the True Void, not just the blackness between stars but rather the Void between Light and Dark. He called me beautiful. Said I was pure, that he was in love. What I tasted in the Drifter wasn't the light, and it definitely wasn't the Void. It wasn't the Dark, either, not entirely. It just felt wrong, like the feeling of uneasiness mixed with disgust that you get when you think of something that simply should not exist. I can't imagine anything loving this.

Then he started to fight back. I don't know how, but it was like something inside him was struggling to escape, to avoid this fate. I recoiled in shock, and his body gasped.

Quick as lightning, he drew and fired. My body dispersed. I didn't need it here, and I didn't want to feel the bite of those Taken slugs that Malfeasance produced.

"You tried to eat me! Guess I should be flattered, shouldn't I. Must make a tasty morsel, heh," he said snarkily, eyes warily watching the horizon.

"I wish I could get the taste out of my mind, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that," my voice echoed from all directions.

"Ouch, you wound me. And to think I was starting to like you, what a rollercoaster I'm on today."

"There's something wrong with your soul, did you know that? That Darkness you've been toying with, it's infested you like a Worm."

The Drifter sighed loudly. "I'd figured as much, but we all have our prices to pay, don't we?"

"What could possibly be worth this price?"

"Revenge."

"You know it won't help, in the end."

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I know. But if I don't do this, no one else will."

"Justice, then."

"Now you truly wound me."

"I'm sorry, but you're not the only one who will pay the price for your 'justice.' I can't let you live."

He just smiled, mouth wide and full of teeth, before slitting his own throat.

It was exactly what I'd have done, honestly. There's no place in a Psychic Realm for the dead. Unfortunately, that means he knows more than any Guardian, any person even, should.

By the time I was able to manifest back on the Derelict, the Drifter's Ghost was already about to res him. I didn't even think, definitely didn't have time to reach for my gun. I just reached out and manifested violence and death. His Ghost shouldn't have stood a chance. It didn't have to. Before the wave of void energy reached it, it was Taken. I was so shocked I almost didn't notice when Darkness began to pool out from the artifact the Drifter kept behind the glass, slowly seeping into every part of the ship.

For once, I didn't know what was going on, and I was terrified. I jumped over the ledge and flew as fast as I could, practically rocketing myself out the hangar. As I drifted to the arena below, I looked up, only to see the Derelict itself Taken.

The Drifter was gone. His Ghost, too. Some part of me didn't want to find out what could take a Guardian's ghost, but a larger part of me did. Luckily for that part, I knew exactly what I'd have to do.

* * *

A/N: Damn was this chapter difficult to figure out and write, but I think I got down what I needed to. Starting with the next chapter, Chapter Five, we'll be following Shepard's story in detail. That means this story will be taking on a more traditional structure, following specific characters rather than basically a bunch of tangentially related setup chapters like the first four.


	6. Act 1 - Chapter 1

It felt strange, leaving the Tower after all this time; leaving Uldren. There were things that needed doing, though, and there was only one person who could do them.

She was called the Shadow of Shadows, Guardian of Guardians, and a whole slew of other pretentious titles she shrugged off like oil. Like oil, however, they always found a way to get caught on her somewhere, leaving slick residue in places she could not easily clean. There was a time when she felt empowered by the titles, like they were a badge of honor, or even a mask that hid her identity. Now she felt as if they were tearing her apart. She had no idea how Calus had managed to maintain his masks for thousands of years.

Fortunately, she knew that she was not Calus, and that he knew that too. She was not meant to take his place; no one ever would be. He was the first, and he would be the last. So she could afford to shrug off her titles when they were inconvenient to her, take off her mask, stop acting. It almost made it more difficult, balancing two separate entities within herself. One, the Shadow of Shadows. The other? Shepherd.

It's funny how even her name, or what she remembered of it from her past life, was a title. She knows she wasn't a Shepherd of sheep, or of any kind of animals. In her old life, she was a Shepherd of humans. From what she had pieced together of her past life, with the help of Ana Bray, her name was actually Isis Shepard, and she had been head of research at Clovis Bray's Life Extension and Exo Science divisions.

Unfortunately for her actual name, the Guardian Osiris had already made quite the name for himself by the time she was risen, and she didn't want to step on his whole "Egyptian God and also Pretentious Asshole" thing he had going on. Now, she was the Shepherd of all Sapients, corralling and directing the herd under the auspices of the Emperor. Fuck, how pretentious is that?

Whatever the end result of all her titles and masks, whatever it did to her sense of self, she had a job to do. Shit was going down in Citadel and Terminus Space, Taken-y shit, and that could mean only one thing: The Drifter was back. Well, either that or Savathun had arrived, but if that was the case they were probably all fucked anyway and it's all over but the crying, so for the time being this would be treated as related to the Drifter.

Calus had given her a fancy new ship, completely new design that integrated a powerful Mass Effect core with the best the Empire could bring to bear. It was in the profile of a light frigate, but in the weight class of a heavy cruiser, with four roto-engines plus a semi-articulated main drive in the back, and an array of manoeuvering thrusters on every face.

It was equipped with deadly array of short-range flak PDCs, and a three-layered shield consisting of traditional interlocking projections over the hull, a state-of-the-art Kinetic Barrier array above that, and finally a prototype "Shadow Shield" that is capable of actually shunting incoming projectiles into the ship's Shadow Realm. Oh yes, the ship of course has its own Shadow Realm, maintained by her very own personal Psion Councilors.

The most important piece of its defense, however, was its prototype stealth drive; a combination of Eliksni and Guardian tech, the stealth drive rendered the ship completely invisible from all sensors. The system drained power like nothing else, and the only way to make the ship completely invisible was to store all the heat produced while in stealth, so it had an effective operational span of three weeks before it would start to cook the crew. With sealed environment suits, the ship could make four weeks under stealth before it started frying its own electronics, but that's why it was still a prototype, wasn't it?

As for offensive weapons? The ship came equipped with torpedoes. Lots. The entire midsection of the ship, nearly all the way from stern to aft, port to starboard, was packed tight with stealth torpedoes that utilized the same technology as the ship itself. There was a complex system to feed torpedoes into the central firing chambers, a set of seven coaxial railguns whose only purpose was launching torpedoes as quickly and stealthily as possible. The idea was that the ship would orient itself in stealth, fire an array of up to seven torpedoes at the enemy much like a Dreadnought would with its main weapon, and once the torpedoes were inside effective range, they'd fire up their solid state engines and accelerate at upwards of 20 G's while also making use of a simple Mass Effect drive to lower weight to near-zero.

It was the most dangerous vessel in the known universe, designed for long term engagement behind enemy lines without resupply. As such, it was equipped with hydroponics bays, two bays of mining drones, and a limited mineral refinery and manufactory.

According to classified OXA3 predictive analysis, it was capable of single-handedly ending the military threat of the entire Turian Hierarchy over a span of a single month, through precision strikes on command and control ships and dreadnoughts.

The Era of Stealth Submarines had returned, and no one else knew. Calus wanted it kept that way, and so it was. Covered in Point-Defense Weapons, armed with what seemed like seven coaxial Mass Accelerators, and clocking in at 800 meters, who could think this was anything other than a very heavily armed dreadnought?

All the ship needed now was a name, a duty which fell to Shepard herself. Thinking hard, her mind kept settling on one of her own personal ships, a stealth ship designed by Elsie Bray, called the Shadow Trespass. This new ship was big and gold, sure, but at its heart it was just another stealth ship. A big, golden Shadow Trespass? Gilded Trespass it was, then.

* * *

Ships arrived at the Citadel by the hundreds every day, and rarely did they warrant any fanfare at all. Those that did warrant fanfare? They got fanfare. That was just how things worked, she guessed. The procession waiting for her at the Citadel Navy's dreadnought docks was the normal military deal, all rigidity and posturing. Almost entirely composed of Turians, an entire cohort all in shiny armor and shiny weapons, it was actually rather impressive. Off to the right were some Asari, trying to match some semblance of the order the Turians had. Then there were the Salarians. Or rather, the Salarian. A single Salarian stood off to the left of the Turian cohort, frantically fiddling with his omnitool.

As she reached the bottom of the embarkation ramp, the two other members of her fireteam trailing slightly behind her, and her honor guard of two Psions and two Cabal taking the flanks, she snappily saluted to the massed soldiers with the traditional human salute of an open hand off-canted and perpendicular to the brow. The Turian Cohort saluted as one with the traditional Turian salute of their right fist on their heart. The Asari bowed low, maintaining eye contact. The Salarian typed on his omnitool and mumbled something to himself.

As Shepard looked around, trying to find her guide, the Salarian closed his omnitool and made his way toward her, fast-walking as if he was late for his train but too self-conscious to break into a run.

"Mordin Solus, Salarian Special Tasks Group. Welcome to the Citadel, Shadow of Shadows! Sorry for rudeness on my behalf, but am working on the thesis for sixth PhD. Xenopology, if you were wondering."

"The study of alien species, with a focus on their history and culture. Interesting. I've some idea why you picked that one so recently. To my left is Akira, to my right is Aniruddh. That said, I was actually wondering what the other five were, to be honest" replied Shepard.

"Medicine, Chemistry, Xenobiology, Physics, and Statistical Analysis. We are going to be friends."

"Seems likely. So, you're my guide?"

"Indeed! Also have been assigned to your team for the upcoming mission. The Council felt more than purely military expertise would be necessary for this endeavor, Salarian Councilor nominated myself. First destination is SPECTRE headquarters. Will pick up assigned team there. Then, to Presidium to meet Council, publically initiate joint Citadel-Empire cooperation agreement. Hope your diplomat hat is safe, will need it."

Mordin paused very deliberately for an entire second, an eternity it seemed by the rate he was speaking. Shepard smiled before Mordin continued.

"Thank you. Finally, will return here to board your dreadnought and make way. SPECTRE team's equipment will be transferred aboard in the meantime. This way," he said, before walking off toward the elevator at a slightly slower pace than before.

* * *

The trip to the SPECTRE headquarters was rather brief and uneventful, filled with stares and muttering, even the occasional gasp, the latter normally directed at the Cabal in her honor guard.

The headquarters itself was a rather modest, understated affair compared to what she was used to. It seemed more like a meeting place and lounge than the headquarters of the most powerful secret police force in Citadel space. Maybe there were hidden backdoors somewhere that led to the actual headquarters, that this was just a facade, but somehow she doubted it.

Mordin led her group into one of the few but luxurious meeting rooms, where two Turians and an Asari sat apparently making small talk around a coffee table.

"Meet your new assets, Shadow of Shadows. Alaria T'vora, infiltration and espionage specialist. Jarro Crepitus, demolitions expert. Pango Procursus, combat engineer," announced Mordin, gesturing to each in turn.

"Yeah, whatever. You'll all be staying on the ship."

"Excuse me?" said Alaria with indignity.

"You're gonna be my guides, not my soldiers. I've already got soldiers, and they're very good at what they do. Anything that they can't do, my Fireteam and I can, and we can do it better than you. No offense intended. Plus, if you were to die it'd look real bad for the Citadel Council. Again, no offense. Now, I believe we have a photoshoot to get to."

* * *

A/N: I've been trying forever to get over writers block, as evidenced by how long it's taken me to update this. It's literally been forever. That's infinity. A small infinity, but still an infinity.

Anyway, I decided to finally just publish what I've written, even though it doesn't even reach my own personal threshold of 5k words per chapter for the story proper. I just want you guys to know that this story isn't dead.

Also, HUGE NOTE, if anyone wants to help out with writing this story and actually publishing chapters on a schedule, having a co-writer would be immensely helpful. If anyone's interested, please send me a PM.


	7. UPDATE

I've been trying for a very, very long time to move this story on, and when I said I had all these ideas, and a plan, I really did... I just realized it wasn't a good plan, and the ideas didn't account for how ridonculously powerful Calus and his Empire are. Every time I tried to implement one, I'd come to realize that actually it wouldn't play out like that, because Calus just has enough power to take whatever he wants, so he'd do that, because really he isn't a very subtle person and the only reason he's waiting around in Destiny is because he has to, because he's not in a condition to actually wage war. I'd introduced something so far and away more powerful than anything else in Mass Effect, and put basically no limits on it. Not a good foundation for a story.

So, basically, I would continue if I could but I can't so I won't. I also don't see it likely that anyone who would adopt this story would be able to get around the rotten premise, either, so I'm not putting it up for adoption. Rather, I've decided to narrow the scope considerably, introduce Calus and his Leviathan, and JUST his leviathan, into Mass Effect post-ME1, and see how that plays out. No word on when I'll post that. I want to have at least five chapters done before I post anything.

Oh, and as for Realm of the Horned Rat, I'd had much the same problem, to be honest. Shame I didn't learn the first time.


End file.
